This invention relates to an electronic bingo game player and a method for playing bingo at different locations using such a apparatus. The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,295 are incorporated herein by reference.
It is becoming a challenge to maintain interest and excitement in bingo games played in traditional environments. Many players or participants in bingo play often want to play more than one game face at the same time. Consequently, promoters permit participants or players to use electronic game players capable of tracking multiple faces. The participant enters the called number, e.g. B-6, and the storage device tracks the faces in memory which have that call number. When, at some point, a winning combination is detected, the device announces to the user that a winning face has been determined. This is not a popular arrangement for people who mark cards manually, because manual markers can make a mistake or miss a call number or not recognize a winning face, so there is a perception that those participants with an electronic device have an unfair advantage.
Other disadvantages exist in traditional bingo play. See for example an article entitled CHARITY BINGO TRYING TO “REINVENT ITSELF” posted Jun. 14, 2006 on the USA Today website. Among other things; the condition of the bingo parlors; the number of persons needed to run the games; demographics of the participants; and the limits of the traditional way games are played has caused a decline in popularity of bingo and consequent reduction in profits for the operators. The games are simply not as exciting, and the prizes are limited. The result is a decline of interest and enthusiasm by the participants. Also, competition from other legal gambling outlets has resulted in a decline in traditional bingo activity.
One way that participants and promoters see for adding excitement and versatility to the play experience is by allowing participants to play an increased number of faces. This requires advanced technology. If such advanced technology is employed, it is important that participants are comfortable with improvements in play technology. In other words, the experience should be perceived to be very close to the experience with traditional arrangements using paper faces and ink dabbers. These can be conflicting goals. If a participant is using an electronic game device, the participant really does not play the game in a traditional way. The participant simply enters the call and waits for the game device to announce a winning combination. This is not terribly entertaining. Except for entering the call, there is no interaction of the participant marking the faces with the calls; and there is no excitement as the participant watches the faces develop. When playing with conventional paper and ink dabbers, participants can not, as a practical matter, keep up with more than about twenty or so faces. The invention accomplishes the dual goals of adding more faces while maintaining the excitement and interaction of traditional games. In addition, unfairness perceived by traditional participants is reduced, because they too can participate without significantly changing their way of playing, or more precisely their perception of the play action.
There is also a social aspect to play. In traditional bingo halls, participants line up to buy faces and register for play. While doing so, participants meet and greet their friends and choose places to sit. Many participants are older persons who do not like or are uncomfortable with technology. They don't want to just walk in and sit at a computer terminal to play bingo. They want to feel like they are playing in a traditional way, but with the added excitement of having more faces to play. It is important to maintain a very user friendly environment, i.e. one having the look and feel of a traditional game.
In addition, the ability to enlist help at bingo parlors is increasingly difficult. Some charities rely on volunteers. For profit halls must hire help. In either case, as the action increases, it is necessary to have more workers available to maintain controls, monitor the games and maintain security. It would be advantageous to be able to increase play action without increasing labor requirements. Indeed it would be advantageous to reduce the number of workers while increasing the action.
The above identified '295 patent represents an improvement over prior methods. In the patent, the participant can play multiple faces using an electric touch screen which mimics traditional ink and dauber technology. In the patent, when a number is called, the participant enters the call by touching the number displayed in the first column. The call is highlighted or back lit. The adjacent columns contain additional faces which are displayed simultaneously with the first column. When a number called is highlighted in the first column, that number appearing in other columns is also highlighted. In other words a called number appearing in the first column when actuated by the participant becomes lit up or is highlighted so that it can be seen wherever it appears. One input is thus operable to enter and record call numbers in all faces as they are announced. Accordingly, a participant can easily mark all the faces in play by actuating one key. Matching calls in stored faces are likewise recorded and stored.
Accordingly, there is a need for a technologically advanced way of playing bingo allowing users to play more faces and reducing the number of workers to monitor the game play.